Substrate having repaired metallic pattern and method and device for repairing metallic pattern on substrate

ABSTRACT

Paste comprising metallic organic compound, in particular, gold-based metallic organic compound is used as a conductive material for repairing open defects in a metal pattern. After applying the paste, the paste is baked to deposit a metal film. This can produce a very thin metallic film having low electric resistance. Further, a semiconductor laser is used as a heating unit to heat only the paste applied to the open defect. A heating profile having a multi-step baking process includes a provisional baking and main baking process followed by a cooling process to produce a high-quality thin metallic film having no cracks and a dense texture.

This application is a division of application Ser. No. 09/173,532, filedOct. 15, 1998, (pending).

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a substrate, such as a glass substrate,used for a liquid crystal display device and having a repaired defect ina metallic pattern or a mask of a semiconductor formed on the substrateand, and a method and a device for repairing the metallic pattern or themask of the semiconductor on the substrate.

2. Description of Related Art

In recent years, a matrix type display device using a liquid crystal hasbeen used widely as a display device for a computer instead of a displaydevice using a cathode ray tube. Further, to increase the data displayedon a screen at one time, a liquid crystal display device or a plasmadisplay device having a large screen or high definition has beendeveloped. This has reduced yield and has increased defectivesubstrates, and hence, the defective substrates are repaired to reducecosts of liquid crystal display device.

An ordinary matrix type liquid crystal substrate is formed by etchingtransparent X and Y electrodes comprising ITO on two glass substrates.Then, the substrates are arranged opposite to each other, such that theelectrodes form a planar matrix pattern. The glass substrates are thenfilled with liquid crystal. When the X electrodes or the Y electrodesare formed on the substrates as described, the defects shown in FIG. 9are sometimes produced by mixed foreign matter or by etching defects.FIG. 9A shows a good product and FIG. 9B shows a short-circuited defectin which neighboring lines are joined to each other and FIG. 9C shows abroken (open) defect in which a line is broken.

To repair the short-circuit defect shown in FIG. 9B, a short repairdevice, that is, a device for cutting a short-circuited part by laserirradiation has been-used.

To repair the open defect shown in FIG. 9C, the following methods havebeen disclosed;

(W) an organoindium compound solution is applied to the open defect andthen is heated to transform the applied film of the organoindiumcompound into a conductive layer (Japanese Unexamined Patent ApplicationNo. 3-85523),

(X) a conductive liquid glass is applied to a defective part of atransparent electrode (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.2-67517),

(Y) an adhesive comprising fine plastic particles is applied to an opendefect of a bump (Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2-301723),

(Z) a conductive material is applied to an open defect and then laserirradiation is applied thereto (Japanese Patent Application Laid-OpenNo. 2-301723).

However, the above-mentioned techniques disclosed in (W) to (Z) haveseveral drawbacks. For example, in the method disclosed in (W), theindium metal is oxidized when it is heated to form a conductive layer.Also, the oxidation is detrimental to the electric characteristics andthe oxidation process produce a large amount of heat.

In the method disclosed in (X), the conductive glass used for repairingthe open defect in the electrode produces large resistance, and theprocess generates a large amount of heat when repairing the defect.Similarly, the method disclosed in (Y) has structural problems in thatresin containing conductive fine particles produces a large resistanceand a large amount heat is needed in the process used to form the joinedpart. Further, a thick coated film needs to be used so as to realize astable joining state.

In the method disclosed in (Z), a device referred to as a YAG laser forheating the conductive material is large in size and troublesome tohandle. Also, because the output of the device cannot be freelycontrolled, the conductive material is rapidly baked and cooled, whichcan produce cracks in the repaired part. A carbon dioxide laser insteadof the YAG laser has been used for baking, but any laser has advantageand disadvantage form the viewpoint of the useable life of the laser andhandling of laser.

Further, since a line of a transparent electrode formed on the substrateof the liquid crystal display device is very small in width and inthickness, when the above-mentioned organ indium compound, theconductive glass or the adhesive containing conductive fine particlesare used, it is difficult to make the joined part very thin. Even if thejoined part can be made thin, the quality of the joined part is notensured because cracks are produced in the joined part.

Furthermore, when the transparent electrode is formed on the substrateof the liquid crystal display device, a resist material is applied to athin film and is exposed to light by using a mask and is developed toform a resist pattern. Then the above-mentioned thin film is etchedaccording to the resist pattern to form a transparent electrode having apredetermined pattern. In this regard, if the above-mentioned mask has adefect, the pattern formed on the transparent electrode also has adefect. Also, opaque film of the above-mentioned mask sometimes has adefect and when the defect is repaired, the above-mentioned problems arealso produced.

Still further, if the lithographic mask has a defect, the pattern is sofine that it is hard to repair the defect and hence the mask isscrapped. However, in recent years, it has been required that thedefective pattern of the mask be repaired to reduce costs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentionedproblems. An object of the present invention is to provide a substratehaving a repaired metallic pattern in which the defect is repaired whileavoiding the generation of excessive heat and does not produce cracks inthe repaired defective portion of the metal pattern. The invention alsoincludes a method and a device for repairing a metallic pattern on asubstrate for repairing an open defect of an electrode overlying a glasssubstrate of a liquid crystal display device and a defect of an opaquefilm of a mask with a thin film having good electric characteristics,that is, low electric resistance and good quality.

A substrate according to the present invention has a repaired metallicpattern whose defective portions are repaired by applying a conductivematerial thereon, wherein the defective portions are repaired bydeposition of a thin film of metal deposited from a metallic organiccompound.

If the above-mentioned metallic pattern is an electrode, the metallicorganic compound is applied on the defective portion and then is heatedto dissipate an organic component in the organic compound, whereby athin film comprising only a metallic component is formed thereon.Therefore, a defective portion of the electrode formed on a liquidcrystal substrate and having a very narrow width and a small thicknesscan be repaired by forming a thin film whose cross sectional area isequal to or less than that of the electrode.

In this respect, the glass substrate of the liquid crystal displaydevice is typical of the substrate according to the present invention,but the present invention can also be used for the other substrates onwhich an IC is formed. Further, the electrode is the transparentelectrode such as ITO in the case of the liquid crystal display device,but it may be a copper foil electrode or the gold foil electrode.

Further, the above-mentioned metallic pattern may be a an opaque film.The opaque film can be applied to a mask that is subsequently used toform an electrode pattern on the glass substrate or for the fabricationof a semiconductor device. The opaque film like on the glass substrateis a metallic pattern comprising chromium and is used as the mask. Inthis case, when a defect is produced in the opaque film, it is repairedby the above-mentioned means and then any portions protruding from themetallic pattern of the opaque film can be removed. The mask formed inthis manner is placed on the electrode substrate on which a resist layeris formed and then is exposed to light and the resist is developed toform a pattern of the resist layer, and then an etching process iscarried out using the resist pattern as an etching mask to form a highdense electrode pattern on the substrate.

In the case described above, it is preferable that the above-mentionedorganic compound is gold-resinate-based paste for low temperaturebaking. If the defective portion of the substrate is repaired by a goldthin film using this paste, in accordance with the invention, thedefective part can be made extremely conductive as compared with thedefective portions repaired by a conventional repairing material, suchas conductive resin. Therefore, the defective portion does not produceheat and hence can prevent the glass substrate from suffering damage byheat.

A method for repairing a metallic pattern on a substrate according tothe present invention comprises steps of applying a metallic organiccompound to a defect in a metallic pattern formed on the substrate, andheating the organic compound to deposit a metallic thin film in thedefect.

It is preferable that a semiconductor laser is used as a heating sourcefor baking the metallic organic compound, and that the output of thesemiconductor laser is adjusted to provide a baking process comprising amulti-step heating process including a provisional baking and mainbaking and a cooling process.

A metallic thin film of metal deposited from the metallic organiccompound is formed as a dense metallic layer by the above-mentionedtechniques according to the present invention. Although the metallicthin film is very thin, it can have stable electric characteristics.Further, since the paste is preferably black and a semiconductor laseris used to heat the paste, only the paste formed in the defectiveportion absorbs laser light and is heated while other portions of thesubstrate do not absorb the laser light and are not heated. Therefore,non-defective portions of the glass substrate do not suffer damage fromthe heat generated by the laser.

Further, according to the present invention, it is preferable to providea removing process for removing portions protruding from the metallicpattern of a thin film made of deposited metal.

The metallic pattern can be used as a mask of an opaque film by theabove-mentioned removing process, and the metallic thin film depositedafter heating and removing any protruding portions that can be used toform a mask having a metallic pattern of high quality.

Further, a device according to the present invention for repairing adefective part in a metallic pattern formed on a substrate includes areceiving part for holding a metallic organic compound thereon, atransfer body moving between the receiving part and the defect in theelectrode and transferring the metallic organic compound held on thereceiving part to the defect, and a semiconductor laser for baking themetallic organic compound transferred to the defect in the electrode.

In the above-mentioned device, if the metallic pattern is an opaquefilm, it is preferable that the device is provided with a semiconductorlaser for removing any portions protruding from the metallic pattern.

When the above-mentioned repairing device is applied to the opaque film,any portions protruding from the metallic pattern need to be removedafter the metallic pattern is repaired, and if the part is not removed,the metallic pattern will be of poor quality. Therefore, since anyprotruding portions of the metallic pattern are cut by a laser, such asYAG laser, to prevent the deterioration of quality, even if the metallicpattern is an expensive mask made of chromium on the glass substrate, itdoes not need to be scrapped, which can reduce costs.

Further, it is preferable that the above-mentioned device is providedwith a unit for adjusting the output of the semiconductor laser. Byusing the above-mentioned device, a very small amount of paste can betransferred smoothly to the defective part of the very fine electrodeand a metallic thin film of high quality and having no cracks can beprovided to repair on the defective part.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention may bereadily ascertained by referring to the following description andappended drawings, in which:

FIG. 1A, FIG. 1B, and FIG. 1C show steps of a method for repairing anelectrode according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows an action of a transfer probe;

FIG. 3A is a front view of the transfer probe shown in FIG. 2, and FIG.3B is an enlarged view of a portion of the transfer probe shown in FIG.3A;

FIG. 4 is a profile showing a relationship between time and output in abaking process;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing an electrode repairing deviceaccording to the present invention;

FIG. 6A is a plan view of an inspection device for inspecting a positionof a defect of an electrode, and FIG. 6B is a circuit thereof;

FIG. 7 shows a method for forming an electrode pattern on a substrate byusing an opaque film;

FIG. 8 shows a method for repairing a metal pattern; and

FIGS. 9A to 9C are plan views of electrodes formed on a substrate, inwhich FIG. 9A shows normal electrodes, FIG. 9B shows an electrode havinga short-circuited defect, and FIG. 9C shows an electrode having a brokendefect.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A substrate having an electrode repaired according to the presentinvention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1A, FIG. 1B and FIG. 1C schematically show steps of a method forrepairing a broken defect, FIG. 1A shows a state in which paste 1comprising metallic organic compound is applied on an open defect 6,FIG. 1B shows a state of heating the paste 1, and FIG. 1C shows therepaired state of the open defect 6 after heating.

In FIG. 1A, a substrate 10 shows a state of the substrate beforerepairing, in which paste 1 comprising metallic organic compound and anelectrode 3 are laminated on a glass substrate 2. Glass substrate 2 isan ordinary substrate, and electrode 3 is made of ordinary material ofITO, or the like, and is formed in a line by patterning and etching onglass substrate 2 in an equal width and in an equal pitch. Further,paste 1 comprising metallic organic compound is formed by a transferunit 4 on an open defect 6 of electrode 3 on the glass substrate 2. Opendefect 6 is made in electrode 3 by a foreign substance mixed in the filmplane of ITO or the like when electrode 3 is formed using an etchingprocess (see FIG. 9C).

Transfer unit 4, as shown in FIG. 2, comprises a transfer probe 4 a, abase 4 d having a receiving part, and a plate frame 4 c. Paste 1 ispoured in the plate frame 4 c and is leveled off by a squeegee to make aplate paste 1 c. Further, transfer probe 4 a is provided with a movingunit 13 a (see FIG. 5) and can be freely moved between open defect 6 andplate paste 1 c.

FIG. 2 shows an action of the transfer probe 4 a and a predeterminedamount of paste 1 is transferred to the tip end of the transfer probe 4a in the following actions: the transfer probe 4 a is moved from aninitial state (a) above the plate paste 1 c (b) and is lowered there(c), then, the transfer probe 4 a is pressed on the plate paste 1 cuntil it reaches the bottom thereof and then the transfer probe 4 a ismoved up, whereby a predetermined amount of paste 1 is transferred tothe tip end of the transfer probe 4 a. In this regard, as shown in FIG.3A, the transfer probe has a coil spring 7 as an elastic body in itselfand when transfer probe 4 a reaches the bottom of plate paste 1 c, thecoil spring 7 is pressed by a force F against the urging force of coilspring 7 from above the transfer probe 4 a. Next, the transfer probe 4 ais moved above open defect 6 of glass substrate 2 (d) and is loweredthere (e). Then, the transfer probe 4 a is moved up to separate paste 1from transfer probe 4 a, whereby paste 1 is transferred on open defect 6and transfer probe 4 a returns to the initial state (f).

Further, it is preferred that the material of transfer probe 4 a beberyllium copper, and that the tip end of the transfer probe 4 a have aflat shape 4 b to easily transfer paste 1 to the tip end.

By employing transfer probe 4 a as described above, a predeterminedamount of paste 1 can always be transferred without a positioningmechanism or controller of high accuracy. Further, the amount of paste 1to be transferred is changed easily by changing the depth of the platepaste 1 c.

Preferably, paste 1 comprises a metallic organic compound is not goldpowder-based gold paste, but rather organic matter combined with goldatoms, and is preferably formed as a liquid paste. It is also preferableto use gold paste formed by gold-resinate-based MOD (metalloorganicdeposition) as paste 1. In particular, gold paste is preferred for lowtemperature baking. Before repairing open defect 6 on substrate 10, opendefect 6 is filled with transferred paste 1 as described above and bakedprior to carrying out the laser irradiation step shown in FIG. 1B.

Referring to FIG. 1B, a semiconductor laser 5 a is employed as a heatingsource for baking and irradiating paste 1 with near-infrared rays havinga wavelength of approximately 810 nm. In this respect, although notshown, semiconductor laser 5 a is constituted by a plurality ofsemiconductor elements, that is, beams of laser light radiated from thesemiconductor elements are bundled by glass fibers and are converged bya lens unit and radiated on an object.

When semiconductor laser 5 a is used, as shown in FIG. 1B, laser lightradiated on paste 1 is absorbed to heat paste 1, but laser lightradiated on the other portions of electrode 3 and glass substrate 2 isnot absorbed but passes through electrode 3 and glass substrate 2. Thatis, semiconductor laser 5 a uses an element radiating near-infrared raysand the near-infrared rays are absorbed by paste 1 because paste 1 isblack. Only the transferred paste 1 is heated and the other portions ofglass substrate 2 is not heated and hence is not damaged. Further, theoutput intensity of semiconductor laser 5 a can be easily controlledafter paste 1 is baked to form a high quality, repaired metallicpattern.

Shown in FIG. 4 is a profile of a heating process for producing a bakedpart of high quality as described above. In FIG. 4, the horizontal axisdesignates time and the vertical axis designates laser output per unitarea.

First, the laser output is increased to a predetermined value,preferably in about 0 to about 8 sec and is held at low values forpredetermined periods, preferably about 8 to about 16 sec, and about 16to about 24 sec to provisionally bake paste 1, whereby solvent containedin the liquid paste 1 is dissipated. Then, the laser output is held at ahigh value for a predetermined period, preferably about 24 to 34 sec tobake paste 1 in a main baking process, whereby metallic components aredeposited. After baking paste 1, the laser output is decreasedgradually, preferably over a period of about 34 to about 42 sec to coolpaste 1. When paste 1 undergoes the treatment described above, ametallic deposit formed in open defect 6 becomes a high-quality metallicfilm 1 a having a substantially no cracks and a dense texture. In thisregard, the profile shown in FIG. 4 is only an example and can bechanged according to the amount of transferred metallic organiccompound.

Open defect 6 is repaired as described above to produce a metallic thinfilm made of a metallic deposit as shown in FIG. 1C, which produces arepaired substrate 10 a.

As described above, the method for repairing the defective electrode onthe substrate according to the present invention comprises steps of,transferring paste 1 comprising metallic organic compound on open defect6 in electrode on glass substrate 2 by the transfer unit 4, and bakingpaste 1 by the heating unit 5 comprising semiconductor laser 5 a todeposit only the metallic component contained in paste 1.

FIG. 5 is a general view of a device 8 for inspecting and repairingelectrode 3 on substrate 10.

The device comprises a table 12, an inspection unit 8, a transfer unit4, and a heating unit 5. The table 12 is a table on which glasssubstrate 2 having an electrode 3 is placed and can be moved freely inthe X direction, in the Y direction, and in the rotational direction (0)to compensate for the position of glass substrate placed on the table12. Inspection unit 8 has an inspection probe 8 a and an inspectionbrush 8 b and these parts are connected to an inspection circuit 8 c anda moving unit 13 c and are controlled by a control unit 11.

FIGS. 6A and 6B are schematic top and side views, respectively, showinginspection unit 8 for identifying the position of open defect 6. In thisrespect, inspection brush 8 b has a width such that it coversneighboring electrodes 3 and, hence, even if inspection brush 8 b isshifted slightly in the transverse direction, an inspection error is notcaused.

In the other inspection process, when glass substrate 2 on whichelectrodes 3 are formed is placed on the table 12, the inspection probe8 a and inspection brush 8 b are positioned on both sides of electrode 3to inspect the electrodes 3. As illustrated in FIG. 6B, inspection probe8 a and inspection brush 8 b are interconnected to inspection circuit 8c. Inspection unit 8 is constituted by an electric power source E, aresistance R, and a voltmeter for measuring voltage across theresistance R. Each end of inspection unit 8 is connected to inspectionprobe 8 a or the inspection brush 8 b, respectively. In inspection unit8, when electrode 3 is normally formed, electrical continuity exists inelectrode 3 and a voltage is produced across the resistance R formed inthe inspection circuit 8 c. However, when open defect 6 exits inelectrode 3, electrical continuity does not exist and hence a voltage isnot produced across the resistance R. Therefore, each electrode 3 can beinspired for an open defect by monitoring the voltage (V) across theresistance R.

If the electrode 3 is identified as having an open defect, inspectionbrush 8 b is moved toward inspection probe 8 a to identify the positionof the open defect.

As shown in FIG. 6B, inspection brush 8 b is slid from position W towardinspection probe 8 a in the direction of position Z. When inspectionbrush 8 b at a position X, before the broken defective part 6, voltageacross the resistance is not produced and when it is at position Y,after the broken wire defect 6, voltage across the resistance isproduced, whereby the position of open defect 6 is identified. In thisway, it is possible to correctly identify the line and the place whereopen defect 6 is located.

If open defect 6 is detected, the transfer unit 4 is operated. Transferprobe 4 a of transfer unit 4 is connected to the moving unit 13 a and iscontrolled by control unit 11, such that it can freely move between theplate paste 1 c and the open defect 6.

Paste 1 is transferred to open defect 6 by transfer unit 4 and then isbaked by the heating unit comprising semiconductor laser 5 a.Semiconductor laser 5 a is connected to a moving unit 13 b and iscontrolled by control unit 11, such that it can freely be moved abovepaste 1 that has been transferred to open defect 6.

As described above, since the electrodes 3 on all the lines areinspected and repaired, the substrate can now be used as a good product.Further, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentionedpreferred embodiment, it can be applied to, for example, repairing anopaque film formed on a mask that is subsequently used to form anelectrode on a glass substrate, or on a mask substrate for forming asemiconductor.

FIG. 7 shows a method for forming an electrode pattern on a substrate byusing an opaque film (mask). And, FIG. 8 shows a method for repairing adefective part of a metallic pattern in the opaque film mask.

A mask 2,0 shown in FIG. 7 is formed by providing an opaque film 22formed by a metallic pattern on one side of a glass substrate 21. Opaquefilm 22 is preferably formed by depositing the metallic pattern bysputtering chromium (Cr).

When mask 20 is used for a liquid crystal display substrate, anelectrode formed of ITO or the like can be formed on glass substrate 2for a liquid crystal. That is, as shown in FIG. 7, in a substrate inwhich the glass substrate 2, the electrode layer 3 and a resist layer 15are laminated in sequence, mask 20 is placed on the resist layer 15 andis exposed to light. After exposing resist layer 15 to light, the resistis developed to remove all but the portions of resist layer 15 coveredby opaque film 22, whereby a resist pattern is formed. Then, electrodes3 by etching using the resist pattern as an etching mask. Then, theprocess is completed by removing the remaining resist layer 15 on opaquefilm 22.

During the manufacture of mask 20, a metallic pattern is formed on glasssubstrate 21 to create an opaque film 22. Sometimes during themanufacturing process, a defect 24, shown in FIG. 8, might beaccidentally formed on opaque film 22. To repair defect 24, paste 23 istransferred to defect 24 and is baked to repair defect 24. In this case,same metallic organic compound described above, to be more specific,gold paste of gold-resinate-based MOD (metalloorganic deposition) typecan be used as paste 23.

The same semiconductor laser described above can be used for bakingpaste 23 and the wavelength of the laser ranges within the near-infraredrange. In this regard, glass substrate 21 is not damaged because it isbaked by the semiconductor laser (near-infrared radiation). That is,since the laser light passes through the glass substrate 21 and isabsorbed by opaque film 22, there is little difference in temperaturebetween the portion of paste 23 transferred to glass substrate 21 andthe portion of paste 23 transferred to the metallic plane of opaque film22. Hence, both portions are uniformly heated, which prevents problemscaused by a difference in the solidification of the parts.

The defect repaired in the manner described above sometimes has aportion protruding form the metallic pattern of opaque film 22 (thediagonally shaded area in FIG. 8) and the portion protruding from themetallic pattern is required to be removed because the quality of mask20 is deteriorated in this state (in the case of the electrode, the partsticking out from the metallic pattern is acceptable, if the part is notshort-circuited). To remove the protruding portion, a device forapplying laser irradiation such as YAG laser is used.

The repairing device according to the present invention is provided witha laser device for applying laser rays such as YAG laser for irradiatingmask 20.

According to the present invention, even if an open defect is detectedin an electrode, the defect can be repaired by a metallic thin film ofhigh quality that has good electric characteristics that avoids the needto heat the substrate, which can damage a substrate.

Further, according to the present invention, only the paste placed inthe defect is heated and other portions of the substrate are not heatedby the semiconductor laser used to bake the paste, and hence thesubstrate does not suffer damage. Furthermore, the metal in the defectis treated by a baking process comprising provisional baking and mainbaking process and a cooling process, and hence a dense metallic thinfilm with no cracks can be produced.

Still further, since both of the transfer unit and the heating unitaccording to the present invention can be made very compact and can beattached to a conventional device, they have good general versatility.Since a semiconductor laser is used as a heating unit, it can eliminatethe drawbacks of a conventional laser unit, such as short life anddifficult handling.

In addition, the present invention can be used to repair an opaque filmof a mask.

Many widely different embodiments of the invention may be constructedwithout departing from the spirit and the scope of the presentinvention. It should be understood that the present invention is notlimited to the specific embodiments described in the specification,except as defined in the appended claims.

1. A method for repairing a metallic pattern on a substrate, said methodcomprising steps of: applying a metallic organic compound to a defect ina metallic pattern overlying said substrate; and subjecting saidmetallic organic compound to a provisional and a main baking processusing a laser to deposit a metallic thin film in said defect, whereinsaid provisional baking process comprises increasing an output of saidlaser from about 0 to a first predetermined value, and holding saidoutput at said first predetermined value for a predetermined time,whereby solvent contained in said metallic organic compound isdissipated, and wherein said main baking process comprises increasingsaid output of said laser to a second predetermined value and holdingsaid output at said second predetermined value for a predetermined time,whereby metallic components are deposited.
 2. A method for repairing ametallic pattern on a substrate according to claim 1, wherein said lasercomprises a semiconductor laser, and wherein infrared energy from a saidsemiconductor laser is used as a heat source for baking said metallicorganic compound.
 3. A method for repairing a metallic pattern on asubstrate according to claim 2, and wherein said method furthercomprises cooling said substrate after baking said metallic organiccompound.
 4. A method for repairing a metallic pattern on a substrateaccording to claim 1, further comprising a step of removing a protrudingportion of a deposited metallic thin film from said metallic pattern. 5.A method for repairing a metallic pattern on a substrate according toclaim 2, further comprising a step of removing a portion of a depositedmetallic thin film protruding from said metallic pattern.
 6. A methodfor repairing a metallic pattern on a substrate according to claim 3,further comprising a step of removing a portion of a deposited metallicthin film protruding from said metallic pattern.
 7. A method forrepairing a metallic pattern on a substrate according to claim 1,wherein holding said output at said first predetermined value for apredetermined time comprises holding said output for about 24 seconds.8. A method for repairing a metallic pattern on a substrate according toclaim 7, wherein said provisional baking process further comprisesincreasing said output of said laser from about 0 to an intermediatevalue and holding said output at said intermediate value for apredetermined time, wherein said intermediate value is less than saidfirst predetermined value.
 9. A method for repairing a metallic patternon a substrate according to claim 8, wherein holding said output at saidintermediate value for a predetermined time comprises holding saidoutput for about 16 seconds.
 10. A method for repairing a metallicpattern on a substrate according to claim 1, wherein said metallic thinfilm has a portion that protrudes from said metallic pattern, saidmethod further comprising applying a laser to trim away said portionfrom said metallic pattern.
 11. A method for repairing a metallicpattern on a substrate according to claim 10, wherein applying a lasercomprises applying a YAG laser.
 12. A method for repairing a metallicpattern on a substrate according to claim 10, wherein said substratecomprises is a glass mask.
 13. A method for repairing a metallic patternon a substrate, said method comprising steps of: providing a transferprobe and a paste plate; pressing said transfer probe into said pasteplate and transferring a predetermined amount of metal-organic compoundfrom said paste plate to said transfer probe; moving said transfer probeto said substrate and transferring said predetermined amount of saidmetallic organic compound to a defect in a metallic pattern overlyingsaid substrate; subjecting said metal-organic compound to a provisionaland a main baking process using a laser to deposit a metallic thin filmin said defect, wherein said provisional baking process comprisesincreasing an output of said laser from about 0 to a first predeterminedvalue, and holding said output at said first predetermined value for apredetermined time, whereby solvent contained in said organic compoundis dissipated, and wherein said main baking process comprises increasingsaid output of said laser to a second predetermined value and holdingsaid output at said second predetermined value for a predetermined time,whereby metallic components are deposited.
 14. A method for repairing ametallic pattern on a substrate according to claim 13, wherein providinga paste plate comprises: providing a plate frame; pouring said metallicorganic compound into said plate frame; and leveling off said metallicorganic compound in said plate frame by applying a squeegee to saidmetallic organic compound.
 15. A method for repairing a metallic patternon a substrate according to claim 13, wherein providing a transfer probecomprises providing a beryllium copper probe having flattened tip end.16. A method for repairing a metallic pattern on a substrate accordingto claim 13, further comprising locating defects in said metallicpattern, wherein said locating comprises the steps of: providing aninspection probe and an inspection brush interconnected to an inspectioncircuit; contacting a selected metallic line in said metallic patternwith said inspection probe and said inspection brush; and sliding saidinspection brush toward said inspection probe along said metallic linewhile monitoring a voltage in said inspection circuit.